The Gospel of the Luke, chapter 17:5-6

In today’s Gospel reading Jesus says that with faith we can uproot trees and have them “planted into the sea.” Faith is a force so powerful that, with it, we can move mountains: mountains of hatred, prejudice, jealousy, injustice and apathy. Too bad that so many people settle for much less.

The Gospel finds the apostles asking Jesus to increase their faith. Evidently, they realized that faith is a gift and that only through that gift could they accomplish anything worthwhile. Jesus tells his disciples a story about a master and a servant in today’s Gospel of Luke, chapter seventeen, which underscores the spirit of faith. Sharing the faith is sharing a privilege and a duty. Faith is not ours to own but to share. It is a gift given to be given again and again. “When you have done all that you have been commanded to do, say: we are useless servants. We have done no more than our duty.” How different is the spirit of faith from the spirit of the world!

The spirit of the world is a selfish spirit, a spirit that asks: “what’s in it for me?” Always counting the cost, always looking out for number one, always making demands and always satisfying one’s ego and needs. In academic parlance, we call this kind of collective behavior, prescriptive; that is, the perceived needs are set by the general public. This ‘modus operandi’ may work quite well for the good of all in democratic institutions, provided the sane majority rules and provided a few crafty politicians don’t manipulate the process (which usually happens). But, since there is always the danger that the ‘innocent’ public will be corrupted by the self-serving spirit of selfishness and prejudice our hearts are always yearning for a better spirit. Faith in God alone can rescue us from the spirit of the world and replace it with the spirit of truth.

Faith is a beautiful spirit; it is, as St. Paul states, “no cowardly spirit, but rather one that makes us strong, loving, and wise.” Faith does not follow the prescriptive needs of the herd. The needs of faith are normative; that is, they are given, laid down for us in “the rich deposit of faith,” in the “sound teaching” of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 1: 13-14).

No wonder Jesus says, “when you have done all you are commanded to do, say, we are useless servants.” He is underscoring the spirit of faith and contrasting it with the spirit of the world. The spirit of faith is one of gratitude for the unmerited gift we have received. It is sharing a divine gift that is not ours to own. When people are grateful to God for this power greater than themselves, they will live by faith and they will deliver results that Jesus compares to moving mountains, and transplanting trees.

Fr. Hugh Duffy